A Tribute to our Pets

This page was created to pay tribute to our lifelong and beloved Pet Friends. If you have something you’d like to contribute to this page you can e-mail us at
AFL-President@adoptafriendforlife.org. It doesn’t have to be original but it can’t be anything copywrited without expressed written permission.

Rescued Dog

I was a lonely dog, just looking for a home.
I had no place to go, no one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets, in rain in heat and snow.
I ate whatever I could find, I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore, my body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat or to gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance, I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.
And then one day I heard a voice so gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me and took me off my feet.

“No one again will hurt you,” was whispered in my ear.
“You’ll have a home to call your own where you will know no fear.”
“You will be dry, you will be warm, you’ll have enough to eat.”
“And rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet.”

I was afraid I must admit, I’ve lived so long in fear.
I can’t remember when I let a human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds and bathed and brushed my fur
She told me about the rescue group and what it meant to her.

She said, “We are a circle, a line that never ends.
And in the center there is you, protected by new friends.
And all around you are the ones that check the pounds,
And those that share their home after you’ve been found.”
And all the other folk are searching near and far.
To find the perfect home for you, where you can be a star.”

She said, “There is a family, that’s waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we’ll find them, just you wait and see.
And then they’ll join our circle, they’ll help to make it grow,
so there’ll be room for more like you, who have no place to go.”

I waited very patiently, the days they came and went.
Today’s the day I thought, my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think it wasn’t meant to be,
there were people standing there just gazing down at me.

I knew them in a heartbeat, I could tell they felt it too.
They said, “We have been waiting for a special dog like you.”

Now every night I say a prayer to all the gods that be.
“Thank you for the life I live and all you’ve given me.
But most of all protect the dogs in the pound and on the street.
And send a Rescue Person to lift them off their feet.”
Arlene Pace
September 18, 1998

When I wrote this poem, it was inspired by my foster Sheltie “Patchie” who, by the way, is in a home where he is the light of their eyes. I think now that it is more in the way I see the rescue efforts of all the people who are doing such a great a job all over this country. So I wish to dedicate this poem to all of you in rescue, the doers, the helpers, the donators of money and/or time and tears. Please feel free to recopy, reprint or resend to anyone you would like to.

STRAY CAT by Francis Witham

Oh, what unhappy twist of fate
Has brought you homeless to my gate?
The gate where once another stood
To beg for shelter, warmth, and food
For from that day I ceased to be
The master of my destiny.

While he, with purr and velvet paw
Became within my house the law.
He scratched the furniture and shed
And claimed the middle of my bed.

He ruled in arrogance and pride
And broke my heart the day he died.
So if you really think, oh Cat,
I’d willingly relive all that
Because you come forlorn and thin
Well…don’t just stand there…Come on in!

The Puppy Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep,
The king-size bed is soft and deep…
I sleep right in the center groove
My human being can hardly move!

I’ve trapped her legs, she’s tucked in tight
And here is where I pass the night
No one disturbs me or dares intrude
Till morning comes and “I want food!”

I sneak up slowly to begin
My nibbles on my human’s chin.
She wakes up quickly,
I have sharp teeth –

I’m a puppy, don’t you see?
For the morning’s here
And it’s time to play
I always seem to get my way.

So thank you Lord for giving me
This human person that I see.
The one who hugs and holds me tight
And shares her bed with me at night

 Things I Must Remember As A Dog

The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I’m lying under the coffee table.
I will not roll my toys behind the fridge, behind the sofa or under the bed.
I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house.
I will not eat the cats’ food, before they eat it or after they throw it up.
I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of clean carpet in the house when I am about to get sick.
I will not throw up in the car.
“Kitty box crunchies,” although they are tasty, are not food.
I will not eat any more Kleenex or napkins and then re-deposit them in the backyard after processing.
The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.
I will not chew my human’s toothbrush and not tell them.
I will not chew crayons or pens, especially not the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.
When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it’s raining outside.
We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on TV.
I will not steal my mom’s underwear and dance all over the backyard with it.
The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are Mom and Dad’s laps.
My head does not belong in the refrigerator.
I will not bite the officer’s hand when he reaches in for mom’s driver’s license and car registration.
I will not play tug-of-war with dad’s underwear when he’s on the toilet.

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